Linus van Pelt scoured his neighborhood each year for the most sincere pumpkin patch, hoping to meet the great pumpkin. Who or what was this great pumpkin? There are over 50 different varieties of pumpkins that are available to gardeners. If you go searching for seeds to grow, you could purchase varieties named: Casper, Baby Bear, Funny Face, Munchkin, Jumbo, Sweetie Pie, Little Boo or Autumn Gold, and that's just the beginning. Maybe Linus grew Atlantic Giants, which can reach over 1,000 pounds!

The Great Pumpkin has been stretching his vine-like fingers into the breweries of America. Pumpkin-flavored beers have never been more popular. These days, even big boys such as Anheuser-Busch are trying to bottle jack-o'-lantern magic. To measure the quality of this new tide of gourd-adorned brews, we asked some of the Peninsula's top beer experts to conduct a blind taste test. Find out what they discovered on page G5. ONLINE EXTRA: Watch video of our beer judges discussing pumpkin beers at dailypress.

Celebrate the fall harvest with the Great Pumpkin Fall Fling at the Carousel Park in Hampton on Saturday. Starting at noon kids can enjoy face painting, balloon art, arts and crafts and puppet shows. The event also features food, live music, hay rides through downtown Hampton, a pumpkin patch and a pumpkin carving contest. Information: www.vasc.org, 727-0900

Linus van Pelt scoured his neighborhood each year for the most sincere pumpkin patch, hoping to meet the great pumpkin. Who or what was this great pumpkin? There are over 50 different varieties of pumpkins that are available to gardeners. If you go searching for seeds to grow, you could purchase varieties named: Casper, Baby Bear, Funny Face, Munchkin, Jumbo, Sweetie Pie, Little Boo or Autumn Gold, and that's just the beginning. Maybe Linus grew Atlantic Giants, which can reach over 1,000 pounds!

FUNDRAISERS How bazaar! Warwick United Church of Christ, 10 Matoaka Lane, at the corner of J. Clyde Morris Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue, will host a bazaar from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds benefit the Women's Fellowship and its projects. Crafts, baked goods, plants, church cookbooks and a quilt/afghan raffle will be featured. Brunch will be served. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children and a la carte items. Vendors from Pampered Chef, Beads by the Bay, PartyLites, Tastefully Simple, Longaberger, Tupperware and Weekenders will be present.

Master Gardeners partner with VDOT GLOUCESTER - The Gloucester Master Gardeners have worked with the Virginia Department of Transportation to place planters at the four abutments in front of the toll booths on the Coleman Bridge. In the fall of 2006, the Gloucester Master Gardeners made hypertufa planters specifically to fit on the abutments. The Master Gardeners then decided to plant seasonal flowers and plants in individual pots, so that fading flowers could be removed and replaced with fresh, blooming plants.

BEAVERDAM PARK STAGES HAUNTED TRAIL GLOUCESTER - The Gloucester Department of Parks and Recreation will hold its annual Haunted Trail events Saturday at Beaverdam Park. The first trail, "In Search of the Great Pumpkin," will be open from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and is a fun trail for ages 8 and under. Children will walk the trail in search of the Great Pumpkin, then enjoy a pony ride, petting zoo and story telling. The people along the trail will have treats for the children. Tickets are $3 for children; adults are free if accompanied by a child.

There is something mighty scary going on at the Ken Matthews Landscape Center. The York County business is sponsoring a business partnership project between Dare, Seaford, and Tabb elementary schools whereby third-, fifth- and sixth-graders compete to see who has the best Halloween display. The reason Matthews is holding the event is that he feels he needs to give something back to the public. "This community is the greatest and we thought it would be great fun for the kids and the parents," Matthews says enthusiastically.

Our search for the great pumpkin began this year at a Williamsburg "patch," which actually is a residential front yard at 7449 Richmond Road. The pumpkin-picking rules in my family are fairly simple: Big is best, you must be able to carry the one you choose, and cheap breaks all ties. Good thing, too. At the Williamsburg patch Kent Meadows has operated for over 30 years, there was a large area of "pretty, ugly pumpkins" for a buck. Some of these unsightly squash were quite large and only slightly misshapen.

The Great Pumpkin has been stretching his vine-like fingers into the breweries of America. Pumpkin-flavored beers have never been more popular. These days, even big boys such as Anheuser-Busch are trying to bottle jack-o'-lantern magic. To measure the quality of this new tide of gourd-adorned brews, we asked some of the Peninsula's top beer experts to conduct a blind taste test. Find out what they discovered on page G5. ONLINE EXTRA: Watch video of our beer judges discussing pumpkin beers at dailypress.

Master Gardeners partner with VDOT GLOUCESTER - The Gloucester Master Gardeners have worked with the Virginia Department of Transportation to place planters at the four abutments in front of the toll booths on the Coleman Bridge. In the fall of 2006, the Gloucester Master Gardeners made hypertufa planters specifically to fit on the abutments. The Master Gardeners then decided to plant seasonal flowers and plants in individual pots, so that fading flowers could be removed and replaced with fresh, blooming plants.

Between all the ghost tours, hayrides, masquerade balls, kid-friendly events and grownup parties this weekend, who's going to have any energy left when Halloween is finally here on Tuesday? There's no shortage of Halloween activities ranging from scary to barely creepy over the next few days. People can find things to do on the Peninsula or travel across the water. We picked out our four favorites here. Be sure to check out page D11 for our complete list. CRY WITCH AT COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG When: 7 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, 7:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday and Monday Where: the Capitol More info: 800-HISTORY (417-8679)

FUNDRAISERS How bazaar! Warwick United Church of Christ, 10 Matoaka Lane, at the corner of J. Clyde Morris Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue, will host a bazaar from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds benefit the Women's Fellowship and its projects. Crafts, baked goods, plants, church cookbooks and a quilt/afghan raffle will be featured. Brunch will be served. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children and a la carte items. Vendors from Pampered Chef, Beads by the Bay, PartyLites, Tastefully Simple, Longaberger, Tupperware and Weekenders will be present.

Pity poor Charlie Brown as he purveys the puny pumpkins in this year's Virginia patches. The Great Pumpkin lives, but his sidekicks have shrunk. Blame this summer's sweltering heat and the dastardly drought for the demise of size. This Halloween, jack-o-lanterns will still be lit for trick-or-treaters -- but probably won't illuminate an entire front porch. The double whammy came at a critical growing time for the vines. With rainfall 3.57 inches below average in July and 1.71 inches below average in August, pumpkins that were pollinated shut down their maturation process for self-preservation.

Looking for a pumpkin? Check out an area church. Beth Meldrom did. Driving past Chestnut Memorial United Methodist Church, she couldn't believe her eyes. Tall, short, lean and roly-poly, the pumpkins at the Newport News church are enough to make Linus and Charlie Brown drool. Meldrom, arranged daughters Sarah, 8, and Katie, 7, and sons Eric, 5, and Jared, 3, atop massive orange growths lined along Harpersville Road and started snapping pictures. "I've never been to a church to get a pumpkin," Meldrom said.

It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly the Great Pumpkin appeared on the front lawn. Buddy and Eva Wakefield didn't ask questions. They were just happy their gigantic gourd was home. "I was watching `Jeopardy' when the woman knocked at the door," Eva Wakefield said Thursday evening. "We really weren't expecting it." The Wakefields and their 130-pound pumpkin have been the source of a pre-Halloween mystery all week. The whole hoo-hah started Sunday, when the pumpkin, a gift from the Wakefields' daughter, was discovered missing from the front porch.